Three Charged with 'Aggravated Violence' Following Soccer Attack

Tottenham supporters were attacked in a Lyon bar on the eve of a Europa League game.

By Arutz Sheva staff

First Publish: 2/24/2013, 12:47 PM

Soccer (illustrative)

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Three men have been charged with "aggravated violence" and remanded in custody after Tottenham Hotspur supporters were attacked in a Lyon bar on Wednesday evening before a Europa League game in the city.

Police are also investigating claims of violence "provoked by racial hatred," with reports that Nazi salutes were seen when Spurs supporters were attacked in the Smoking Dog pub, in Lyon's Old Town, on the eve of Thursday's match, AFP reported.

Seven people suffered minor injuries, and police are looking for several dozen people in connection with the attack, which was carried out by up to 50 masked men.

One of the three currently being held has connections with the extreme right, according to AFP.

The men are also accused of causing damage to the premises after chairs were thrown and stones and bricks hurled through the pub's windows.

The controversially nicknamed “Yid Army” similarly sparked controversy in November when sporting chants lead to accusations of racism and anti-Semitism and fans of the club, which has a traditionally strong Jewish following, were ambushed inside a pub in Rome on the eve of their Europa League game against Lazio.

The nickname, adopted in the middle of the 20th century when Tottenham was a predominantly Jewish London neighborhood, inspired fans from opposing teams to mock the “Yid Army” with hisses to simulate the sound of gas chambers used to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust.